President Bola Tinubu says diaspora home remittances in 2022 stood at US$ 21.9 billion through official channels.

Mr Tinubu said this at the 17th annual National Diaspora Day (NDD), 2023, at the Conference Centre, Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday.

The theme of the day was: “Consolidating Diaspora Engagement for National Development”.

“In 2022, our diaspora home remittances through official channels stood at US$ 21.9 billion, over four times the value of our Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),” said Mr Tinubu, represented by Femi Gbajabiamila, his chief of staff.

The president said Nigerians excelled globally and contributed immensely to the country’s development through their resources, talents, skills and global exposure.

“The Nigerians in the diaspora are also actively investing in healthcare, agriculture, education, information and communication technology, housing and real estate, sports, transportation, oil and gas and other sectors.

“This, I must say, is commendable and in our enlightened self-interest as only Nigerians at home and abroad can develop Nigeria,” the president said.

He also estimated Nigerians abroad at over 17 million and reiterated that the government held the diaspora in high esteem and worked hard to uplift engagements with them.

He said parts of the engagement included the passage of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) (Establishment) Act in 2017, its take off in 2019, and the approval and adoption of the National Diaspora Policy in 2021.

“May I also let you know that this new democratically-elected government is a diaspora-friendly one, which will provide an enabling platform for effective policies for the diaspora with the view to galvanising support for the new administration and concretising our democracy, setting a good example for other African countries to emulate,” he said.

He assured that the government would address some of the commission’s challenges to make it more effective with the diaspora for national development.

In her welcome address, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairman of NiDCOM, urged the federal government for a review of the act setting up NiDCOM to streamline its activities by setting up a sustaining funding mechanism for the commission’s activities.

In his opening remarks, Adamu Lamuwa, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, applauded the Nigerians in the diaspora for their contributions to Nigeria.

(NAN)